Jordan’s Prime Minister Omar al-Razzaz announced a cabinet reshuffle on Thursday, which officials said consolidated the grip of technocrats charged with speeding up IMF-guided economic reforms crucial to rejuvenate sluggish growth.

Razzaz, a former World Bank economist, was appointed by the monarch last June. His predecessor, Hani al-Mulki, resigned in an attempt to defuse a crisis that saw some of the largest protests in years over IMF austerity measures, including tax hikes.